Ominous clouds hover over National Gallery of Portraits

The National Gallery of Portraits,in Sector 17,is facing a threat due to the seepage that has crept up in a portion of its ceiling.

The National Gallery of Portraits,in Sector 17,is facing a threat due to the seepage that has crept up in a portion of its ceiling. The gallery exhibits various phases of the countrys freedom struggle through portraits and recorded voices of leaders of the yesteryears.

While the seepage which has appeared in a portion of the ceiling above the section exhibiting the period of Birth of National Army,is threatening to damage precious exhibits – rare documents and sculptures inside the Gallery,officials at the Gallery maintain that the UT Administration has shown little interest in getting the ceiling repaired. The problem,which started attaining serious proportions around a year back,is likely to worsen during the monsoons.

The seepage is there since previous two years. It had persisted last year during the monsoon season due to the flood water leakage at the roof corner of the gallery,R K Aggarwal,Senior Librarian at the gallery,told the Chandigarh Newsline.

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The administration had constructed a toe wall to stop waterlogging at the roof. However,the seepage resurfaced after a few days. We had registered a complaint with the maintenance office in Sector 18 and also wrote to the administration,but to no avail,Aggarwal added.

However,the UT officials said that they have taken a note of it. The seepage is probably due to the renovation which is going on in the library inside the gallery. We will repair it as soon as the work completes,SK Jaitley,UT Chief Engineer said.

The gallery shares a wall around the damaged portion of the ceiling with the staff toilets of the adjoining Union Teritorry Civil Defence Department. The passage of the toilets is partially broken in between.

Whenever there is a blockage in the toilets,the seepage persists.

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It has happened twice over the last one year,added R K Aggarwal.

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